Searching for my Past
by DarkBeerAngel
Summary: Tseng is trying to figure out why a specific dream is haunting him, and the seasonal vacation is the perfect time to reflect on his life.
1. Guilty Concience

Disclaimer- I don't own FF7, Squaresoft does.

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This is a first attempt for all you Tseng fans. We're just going to take a little trip into his world, with just a touch of my favorite redhead, because I can't write it if Reno's not in it. Deal with it ya'll.

--Chapter one-------Guilty Conscience------Tseng has issues---------

Reno rolled down the passenger side window of Tseng's Black Mercedes Benz as they drove past a minivan full of cheerleaders, howled, and flashed them, hoping they would follow his example. Tseng pulled him back in, hit the driver's auto panel rolling up and locking Reno's window, and turned up the radio to muffle Reno's insane laughter. Reno didn't care the least bit; he just turned the radio from Tseng's favorite rap station to a rock channel and started screaming along. Tseng just stared at the road, frowning at the redhead's behavior, and checked the directional sign as he noticed it fly by in a green blur. Junon airport, next exit.

It was Friday, and the first day of summer. At the beginning of the week Tseng had gotten Rufus's approval for all Turks to get their seasonal two-week vacation, and the today day they went their separate ways. Elena was going home to Costa Del Sol to go tanning. Rude was heading home to Icicle Town to go snowboarding. Reno, having no family to go home to, bummed Tseng into taking him along to wherever he was headed. Tseng was going home... Wutai... and wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with his rambunctious friend. Nor what he was going to do with his vacation time.

Knowing Reno, Tseng figured he would either one, just hang out at Turtle's Paradise the whole time, or two, con Yuffie into letting him stay with her, and either way that would be just fine with him. Tseng did not like the idea of bringing Reno home and meeting his family. In fact, it scared him. Nobody knew Tseng's secret, and being a highly respected man, he wished to keep it that way. Just thinking about Reno meeting his mother made Tseng break out in a slight sweat as he veered the car onto the off ramp. He glanced over at the redhead who was staring vacantly at the roof and wondered what was going through his mind, what trouble he was planning.

"Hey Sen," Reno unexpectantly said. "Yes Reno," Tseng answered, cautiously. "I was just wondering... do you have any sisters?" That caught him off guard. Turks were never supposed to discuss their personal life. "That is classified information. Why would you care," Tseng countered, a bit cautious. Reno just shrugged and pointed out a parking space like he hadn't said anything. Tseng sighed and pulled in.

After turning the car off Tseng noticed a very odd noise, a dull buzzing, almost sounding like... He looked over at Reno, who was fighting with the seat buckle, and it came together. "You put your PHS in the trunk Reno." Reno stopped pulling on the chrome bracket and smiled over at his boss. "Yup. You said I had to bring it, so I put it in my backpack." Reno smiled triumphantly, like a very dumb little kid. Tseng sighed loudly. "Reno, go answer your phone." Reno looked at him, a bit puzzled. "Dude, how... without summoning Bahamut... do I get out of this thing," he asked and Tseng quietly said, "Open the door Reno." Reno opened the door and stared at it in amazement as the buckle slid forward, releasing him from it's death grip.

By the time they had the seatbelt issue settled and the trunk open Reno's phone had stopped ringing. It had been Scarlet, they found out after he had retrieved it from the depths of his backpack. Reno listened to the message, then turned and gave Tseng a big hug. Tseng just stood still, wishing him away. "Guess what," Reno beamed, and Tseng reached for his suitcases, not really wanting to play guessing games. "What," he answered, turning to face the shorter man. Once again Reno was wearing his "I accomplished something difficult that didn't actually exist" face and Tseng groaned. Reno gave him a funny look and went on. "She wants me to go with her to Gold Saucer for the week!" Tseng looked him over carefully. "And... You want to accompany her?" Reno rolled his eyes. "Of course! I mean, dude, c'mon. You seriously don't want me hanging around you for two weeks, am I right?" Tseng nodded. "Right, well, we're already here, so, thanks for getting me here and stuff, but I got a plane to catch!" With that, Reno grabbed his luggage and took off running. Tseng watched him disappear into the building and sighed with relief. With his number one stress cause gone, now he could start relaxing.

As Tseng got settled into his seat after the plane had taken off he looked around at all the people. After deciding nobody looked like they would be any trouble, he let himself slouch down into the seat and grinned. He adjust the earpieces and volume of the small MP3 player he had stashed in his coat pocket before he left, knowing it would be a long trip, and gently tapped his fingers against the arm rest in time to the beat. His grin turned into a smile as the little girl in the seat next to him pulled on his sleeve. He took the earpieces out and looked down at her. She couldn't have been older than four, and could have been Reno's clone... despite the ringlets and freckles, which he did not have. "S'cuse me sir," she said, her words coming out like giggles. He smiled a little. "Yes ma'am, how may I help you," he answered her with a small hand gesture, and she laughed. "You smell good like a car." Tseng looked at the child, a bit confused, as her mother apologized and told her not to talk to strangers. He nodded and turned back to his music, hoping he would find sleep. After a few songs, he did, not before feeling a very small hand investigating his very long black hair.

"I'm standing in a field with gently rolling hills, the forest and the mountain range surrounds me. The small creek that runs from the ocean and through town is to one side of me. To the other side is a presence. I turn to see who is there, but there is nobody but the gentle wind. I hear footsteps and turn around to look, but no one is behind me. I look at my hands... These are not my hands. At least, not my hands of now, these hands are small, delicate piano hands, untouched by reality. I look down at my feet. Small red sandals adorn equally small feet, semi covered by black silk pants. I run my fingers up the collar on the red silk top and smooth the creases, in a way that is known but never learned. I reach up to smooth my hair, and again it is not my hair. There is no hair to feel. I run over to the creek and bend over, peer into it, hoping to find my reflection. I do not see me, I see him, a small boy, barely six years old. The destined Wutaian king. Grasping a large rock with both hands I throw it in the creek, shattering the image. Now I am in a small room, and look down as I notice there are shards of glass crunching under my sandals. I look up and see a lady standing tall in front of me. I cannot see her face but I know she is angry. I hear her say, "How could he" over and over, each time echoing farther away, fading into darkness. There is a small light to my left and I turn, and now I am sitting on a chair in a dark office room. I look down at my hands, and these hands look more like my hands. I throw something across the table, a folder. My arms are covered with dark green material and I stand as a whistle is blown and I start marching, joining countless others as we march towards the ocean. I see a man with long black hair wearing a blue suit standing next to the docks. I am being told to get onto the boat, but I want to talk to the man. I want to turn and run to him. I don't want to go with the other men in the green material clothes. I turn and run for him, but now I am running towards a tall building. There are people lying on the ground everywhere and I cannot stop running. I run until I can't breath and I sit down on a chair that is sitting in the middle of the road. The people disappear and now I am in a building, sitting in an office with three men and one woman in blue suits staring at me. They all have guns pointed at me. I turn around and now I am wearing a blue suit. I straighten my tie and smooth back my long hair, pausing to adjust my gun holster. Now I am staring at myself in the mirror, and it is truly my own reflection. I take notice of the small wrinkles that have appeared as of late, and the fading black of my bindi. As I examine my own reflection I sense a presence behind me but see no ones reflection. I turn around and I am staring Vincent Valentine in the eyes. This is not the Vincent of Avalanche. This is the Vincent of the Turks. I am not afraid or intimidated by him; this is the man I have been looking for my whole life. I try to talk to him but no words come out. I keep trying to talk and he is slowly disappearing. He disappears into nothingness and I look down. I feel strong regret and loss. I see something shining on the floor and I move towards it, I pick it up and..."

Tseng groaned and pulled out the earpieces as he was awoken from the airplane's loudspeakers telling them all to put their seatbelts back on for landing. He did just that, cursing under his breath. "I was close this time," he thought to himself as he watched out the window as the plane landed. He had been having the same dream for so many years now he could not remember when it had started. He knew it was progressing slowly, and it never came as frequent as he would like. What puzzled him the most was why he had such strong reoccurring feelings towards that Avalanche freak. As far as Tseng knew, the man had never been a Turk, and was much younger than him. Tseng had just turned 36, and if the criminal records were correct, that Valentine guy was only 27. Tseng yawned and tucked his player back into his pocket as the plane came to a full stop. He waited to unbuckle and exit until every other passenger had left. He had much to think about.

As he left the plane Tseng looked outside the covered walkway and smiled. He couldn't wait to get outside. The baggage claim went quickly and once he had his suitcases he walked out the revolving doors and took in a deep breath. He was home. The air here was so... free, unlike the suffocation he lived with in Midgar. The winds here blended from the mountains and the ocean and it felt so refreshing, so alive. Sometimes he wondered why he decided to leave it all behind. As Tseng slowly walked down the sidewalk he noticed an unusually familiar teen in a bright green tee shirt and brown shorts. "Oh dear Holy," he thought, stopping dead in his tracks, hoping she hadn't seen him. "Hey, Sen-sama!" Too late, he thought as the tiny ninja ran up and glomped him. "Ah, hello Yuffie," he greeted her, trying to push her off. "Reno-chan called and told me you were coming," she squealed. Tseng silently cursed them both and was relieved when she finally let go. "Well, I see you finally grew an inch," he teased the short girl, not knowing what else to say to her. She laughed. "So, you want me to carry one of those," she asked, thumbing at his luggage. "There's no Materia in there," he assured her, and she laughed again. "Can't I do something nice for someone once in a while, geez... oh my gawd..." Tseng looked at her, then in the direction she was looking. Vincent had just come out the doors, clad in board shorts and a Costa print tee shirt. She looked up at Tseng and grinned. "Always nice to see ya when you're not arresting me, but I got me a vampire to harass." Tseng watched as the princess ran over and glomped him, easily stealing a Support Materia in the process. "He's here," Tseng said under his breath, "This has to be a sign."

Tseng followed the cobblestone path up the river and into the woods, a quarter mile out the other side of town. He hadn't been home in over three years, and on the outside it hadn't changed a bit. It was a five-bedroom estate, handmade from stone and cement. It had been a castle in his eyes as he and his then newlywed wife had watched it be built over ten years ago, and looking at it now he still agreed, it was as cold and empty as he had left it. He tried the door and found it locked. He dug for his keys and as once he entered the gazebo style entryway he was hit by an overpowering sense of sadness.

He closed the door and sat his luggage down. He walked over to the fireplace mantle and took the last remaining dust covered picture down. As he gently wiping away the last three years accumulation of dust and silt, five faces emerged. On the right side was him, and in his lap was Joshua, then six years old. In the middle of the picture was Zachary, then three years old. On the left were Suki, his now estranged wife, and Matthew, then fourteen months old. They seemed to be a happy, picture perfect family, forever frozen in time.

Tseng clutched the picture against his chest and leaned back against the wall, slowly letting himself sink down to the hardwood floor. If he had been a lesser man he would have cried. Instead he just sat there, staring at the small faces, and said a silent prayer for each child, hoping they had a better life now. The life he could not provide for them, no matter how hard he had tried. "I'm not leaving you because I don't love you," she had told him firmly. "I'm leaving you because you don't make enough money." He knew that was a lie. She was leaving him for the father of her youngest two children, who was a lawyer in Cosmo Canyon. She was leaving him because she had never been in love from the beginning; she had been with him for his money. And he had chose to marry her, out of all the girls he knew, because he loved her.

After a countless amount of time of reminiscing, Tseng stood up and slowly walked back to the mantle and set the picture back down. It was getting dark and he hadn't set up his room yet. That didn't seem to matter much to him now. For the moment, he needed a drink. He couldn't help but feel sad for Reno's choice to fly solo... Reno was the only person who could cheer Tseng up. That, and he was an excellent drinking partner.

Tseng rummaged through the cabinets until he found his whiskey, still intact, and his stack of shot glasses. "Sorry boys," Tseng said loudly to the glasses, knowing there wasn't another person around to hear him, "I'm sucking the big one tonight." As he realized there was a double meaning to that, he laughed out loud. The sound of his laughter echoing through the empty house made him laugh even louder until he was doubled over crying on the floor. The hysterical laughter turned into sorrow filled tears and he finally succumbed to the depression. He missed his son. He rolled the bottle away from him and stood up, brushing off his dark blue jeans and gray sweatshirt. Feeling a bit jet lagged Tseng decided it was the best to just get some sleep for the night. He brought one suitcase over to the couch and opened it, bringing out his black fleece blanket, his gray pillow, and his purple stuffed animal dog. He placed his pistol under the pillow and lay down, pulling the blanket over him and pulling the toy dog tight. And for the first time in a while, he didn't have a single dream. 


	2. Silent Screams

Disclaimer- I don't own the copyright to any of the following: FF7, Corvettes, Vans, the Grateful Dead, the Backstreet Boys, or anythign else I mentioned. Please don't ask again. 

Chapter two----------Silent Screams---------

Every voice left unheard will become me / And I will become something more than myself / I will find a way to be heard /Or be forever silenced

The next morning Tseng paced around the large living room, waiting for her to pick up the phone. "Seven rings, where are you? Pick up, pick up, pick up," Tseng said under his breath. It was unlike Terri, his aunt, to leave a ringing phone unanswered. He was relieved when someone finally picked up on the ninth ring. Silence. "Hello," he asked, then paused. More silence on the other end. "Hello, it's me, Tseng, anyone there" he tried again, and could have cursed at the much too chipper voice that answered. "Hey Sen-sama, I thought it was you!" Tseng could have smacked her. "Yuffie, where's Terri? I wanted to talk to her." If it was possible, he could have sworn she rolled her eyes at him. "She's at the market with those little brats of hers, why? You could talk to me..." Tseng cut her off. "If she's in town, I'll just catch up with her, I was heading that way this morning anyway. Thanks Yu." He heard small, covered giggles and smiled a bit himself; he could always get her with that one. "Should I meet you or something? I was kinda thinking about going downtown myself..." Tseng sighed, loudly emphasizing the dread of bringing her along, and was surprised she didn't say anything against it. "I suppose you could meet up with me, Yu, I wouldn't mind..." "Cool," she basically squealed, interrupting him, "And maybe..." "No maybes," Tseng corrected the young girl. "You should go ahead and find her, and PHS me and let me know where I can find her, and that's all. No maybe anything, you hear me," Tseng stated, and Yuffie sniffed on the other end. "I see how it is," she whined, but he knew his young cousin much too well. "Siyah, Yuffie, I'll see you," he said, and waited until she said goodbye to hang up. "Not my favorite way to start a day," he thought to himself, and couldn't help but smile a little. Even if Yuffie was a pain in the ass, a thief, and a terrorist, she was still family, and nothing could ever change that.

Tseng sat down the company cell phone on the coffee table and briskly walked down the hall to the bathroom, where he had set up before he had showered this morning. He caught himself whistling as he combed and tied back his still wet hair and laughed. In all his mornings thoughts he had forgotten to dress himself in more than his blue silk boxers. As he returned to the living room and opened his suitcase with his packed, pressed suits he considered going into town as he was. After a moment imagining everyone's faces, his better judgment won and soon he found himself walking upstairs to search his drawers for something... normal.

He dreaded going in the master bedroom, and paused for a deep breath a moment before he turned the knob. The smell of must and lingering sandalwood was somehow overpowering and he had to turn back for a moment, collecting his thoughts. He was not going to have a mental breakdown over his own bedroom. As he stepped in and scanned the room he startled; for a moment he could have sworn he saw her lying there asleep, her makeup still on and her hair undone, just the way he had found her with him four years past. The vision was nothing more than a memory, and just proved to him that stressful situations burn themselves into your soul forever. Shaking the ghosts away he turned to the bureau to begin his investigation for clothes that may still fit.

He had plenty of clothes here, along with other possessions. He wondered why she had never came back to burn them, why she had never sold his jet ski or crashed his vintage Corvette like most women would have. Maybe she knew more than she let on to, or maybe she just didn't care at all. Either way, it was over now and there was nothing more to dwell on.

He pulled out a stack of pants and shirts and dropped them on the floor. This was going to be fun. The first pair of pants just didn't feel right and he tossed them onto the bed. The second pair was a bit too tight for his comfort and he tossed them over to join their friend. The third pair had rips in the knees and various different places and he didn't even put them on. Those ones he decided to toss towards the hallway. In fact, he figured, before he left he should pile together some of the clothes here he no longer used to give to Reno, namely the vintage looking stuff since he had a weird fascination with that kind of stuff. "Cuz it's cool," the redhead had told him one night he had met him at a bar dressed in a band tee and cut offs. Tseng had to smile, remembering that particular night. Pushing the thought of Reno and drunken Guard Hounds out of his mind, Tseng went back to his pants. He pushed over the pile and sifted through it, as if examining evidence from a crime scene. He finally found his favorite skateboarding pants; dark blue carpenters with red stitching, and was amazed they were still here. He pulled them on and zipped them up, checking himself out in the wall mirror. "Not too bad for an old guy," he said to himself, and turned to find a matching shirt. He easily found a black Grateful Dead tee and pulled it on, turning to make sure he saw the right reflection.

For some reason he felt... weird, being here alone, and an odd but welcomed suffocation, like when your aunts circle around you and... His aunt! He remembered he was going into town and quickly left the room, sliding on his Vans as he left. As he hit the bottom floor he swung into the bathroom and spritzed himself with cologne then ran to the living room to get his PHS.

"Dammit Yuffie," he loudly proclaimed, very startled, as he realized the ninja was sitting impatiently on the couch, two mochas in hand. "Dammit to you too," she replied, standing up, "I called you dinkus." Tseng stared at her, calming himself. "When did you call me dinkus? How did I miss that?" She laughed. "No, I called your phone, relax. If I had called you dinkus you would have known." She grinned at him and held one of the coffees out to him, which he gratefully accepted, giving her a small hug in the process. She stepped back and stared into his dark blue eyes with her hazel ones, studying him.

After a minute she gave up whatever she was searching for and sat back down on the couch. Tseng stood there and watched before joining her. They sat and drank their coffee in silence, but he decided he was okay with her unexpected arrival. She had always had the ability to brighten up a room as soon as she entered, but for some reason the feeling just wasn't there. "So, Yu, you said you called," he asked and she nodded her head. He couldn't help but smile as her hair bobbed around, almost the same way Elena's does... like those hula girls you see in the dashboard of cars. He hadn't noticed he was staring, and from her point of view it looked like he was waiting, pressing her for information. Plain clothed or not he was still a Turk. "Yeah," she answered casually, "About twenty minutes ago, and she was leaving town then, and told me she was going to visit Nuria, and you should too."

Tseng stared at Yuffie for a moment, and sadness washed over him. A realization that he hadn't even seen his mother since Zachary was born. The day she disowned him. "No child of mine has a white baby," she had spat at him in Wutaianeese. "No son of mine rents his wife to other men and lets her in bed with sickness." Tseng had tried to calm his mother, to assure her he had not known until now, and she had literally spat in his face. "You..." she stopped to poke him in the chest... "Are not my son." She had walked out the door and out of his life, and from that day on everything he had loved had fallen away from him.

Now he sat bent over on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his head hanging down, thinking, and hadn't noticed the tears rolling down his cheeks. When he became aware of himself he automatically looked over, realizing Yuffie was still there too. She gave him a small, helpless smile. "You want a hug or something," she whispered, and he slung one arm around her tiny shoulders and looked in her eyes. "Nukeya, I want a beer," he softly said and she couldn't help but smile. "Turtles Paradise don't open till noon you know," she reminded him and he pushed her away playfully, shaking his head.

Standing up he looked back over to her. "Is Nuria still mad at me," he slowly asked, trying to control his voice from shaking. Yuffie stood up and walked over to him, gently slipping her arms around his waist. "No," she softly breathed against him as she rested her head against his ribs. He wasn't quite sure if he had heard her right... Would his mother actually forgive him? For something that had been beyond his control, it would be reasonable, but he knew his mother better than that. She had always been stubborn. "Are you absolutely sure," he asked her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't answer him automatically, and that bothered him. She was a loud mouth. "Yuffie," he questioned, gently placing his other hand under her chin, lifting her head up so he could see her face. "What's wrong Yu," he asked her again, and she pushed away from him and sat back down on the couch.

"Damm, I really didn't wanna be the one to tell ya, ya know," she said, a quiver in her voice. He sat back down next to her, confused. "Tell me what squirt," he said, trying to provoke a smile. Unsuccessfully. "Listen... Tseng... I don't know when... I guess Terri said it's been six years, right?" She paused and looked at him, but he just stared blankly at her, he had no idea where she was going. "Okay, well. Look, your mom... she's getting pretty old, you know." Again she paused and looked at him for help, and this time he nodded. He knew very well his mother would be seventy-four this year. She took a deep breath, almost like she was taking her last breath, and let loose her high-speed verbal assault. He was very much used to this and amazingly got every word. "Your mother's been really really sick and the doctors didn't know what was wrong with her and then Terri took her to a different doctor one who knew alot of stuff other than giving pills for everything and he said people just get old and things quit working right and to not worry about it but she started forgetting stuff alot of stuff and getting hurt and Terri took her back to the doctor and he said she was getting this disease old people get when they get old and they just start forgetting everything until they don't know anything and they just stay that way until they get so old that everything else quits working and they die..." Yuffie took a deep breath, trying to catch her breath. Tseng sat there, in shock, absorbing everything she had just said. It hit him, hard, realizing that, if he understood her correctly, his mother had developed Alzimers. He scoffed in disbelief, more like denial, and looked over at the girl sitting next to him. Soft tears were rolling down her cheeks and he joined her, slipping his arms around her.

They just sat there for a while, being in each other's company, neither wanting or knowing what to say. Yuffie's cell phone, with it's very... unique... ring cut through their little world and startled them. She quickly answered and Tseng watched her move about the room, and he asked her whom it had been when she hung up. "Terri," she answered, "Wondering where we were. We still going?" He looked up at her, before standing up and looming over her, his 5'11 far by overshadowing her 5'2. She rolled her eyes for some unknown reason, and he grabbed his phone and keys off the table and forced a smile. "Backstreet Boys Yu? That's the best ring you could come up with?" She grinned wildly and skipped up to him as he held the door for her. "Yup. Cuz I want it that way!" He cringed as he locked the door, never wanting to hear that again. Yuffie was a horrible singer.

As they walked the path leading into town Tseng thought again about the last time he had talked to his mother. He didn't understand to this day why she had made such a big deal about things, and wondered if going along would be a good thing for him to do. He kicked a few rocks along the way. He would never admit it, but he had never felt so torn in his whole life. What would he say to her..? Would she say anything back? There were too many things he didn't understand. "Hey Yu," he asked, and Yuffie spun around to face him. "What's up," she answered, pulling something out of her pocket. "I was wondering..." he started but interrupted himself as he watched her light up a cigarette, "What are you doing?" She grinned. "What does it look like I'm doing?" He shook his head and went back to his original question, not even wanting to know who had taught her that little trick. "If Nuria has been sick all this time, why didn't anyone call me?" Yuffie sighed and sat down on a nearby rock. "Godo figured you were under enough stress with your job in Midgar, and didn't want to trouble you."

Tseng stared at the girl for a moment, and then they started walking again. "Godo is an ass," he said, and she laughed. "I know. I have to live with him." "You could always just move in with me," he said, and automatically wished it back. She looked at him for a minute, and then shook her head. "He'd like that too much," she said, and they both laughed, both knowing the truth all to well. Tseng walked over and surprised her by pulling the cigarette out of her hand and tossing it. "No need to kill yourself when Godo will do it for free," he told her and they both laughed, again. She gave him an unsuccessful shove and teased, "You better watch your mouth, cuz he's just waiting for you to do something stupid." Tseng stopped and looked at her. "Does he still go on about... Us?" She studied him, and turned away. "Hey, Terri's house is right there, so... You go on ahead and I'm going to find Vinnie. Okay?" He didn't get the answer, and judging from her action that probably meant yes.

Seeing that they were both from families with royal blood Godo and Nuria had arranged the marriage of their first born children far before their births. Yuffie was born the year Tseng turned twenty and he had already moved to Midgar, having enlisted in Soldier two years prior, and fallen in love by this time; a woman his age from Cosmo Canyon, a secretary in the Shinra Building, Suki. Tseng watched Yuffie grow up and babysat on occasion when he was home, but because of the age difference he had no desire to follow in the Elders paths. From his point of view, it was disgusting, not only by their ages but being that they were related. The day Tseng and Suki were married, then six year old Yuffie was their flower girl. This upset both Godo and Nuria and they both looked down on it. Godo swore and cursed Tseng, that his life would be filled with suffering. Tseng had sworn he would never talk to him again.

Remembering the words of his uncle, Tseng sighed. That part had turned true. His life was full of sadness, and maybe he was just a soulless shell, thanks to the lovely people at Shinra Inc. He pushed the thought out of the way; he had no desire to think about anything associated with work for the moment. He was standing on the porch of his mother's run down house, and something had just latched itself onto his leg.

He was just about to kick at whatever it was without looking, as it let go and he felt really stupid as he watched the tiny child toddle off to the other side of the porch. He could have laughed at himself; he was so stressed out he almost kicked a baby. "Oh well," he thought and was about to reach for the doorknob when someone else came up behind him and sneezed. He turned around, slightly, to find one of his young cousins, Eliza, standing there. "Hey," he said and she walked over to pick up the baby. "So Eli, who's that," he asked, and she blankly stared at him. He stared back then shook his head. She never said anything to him anyway. As he walked into the small crème colored room he noticed a few more of the younger children sitting around the floor.

Terri had nine, in all. The baby, which he only assumed was hers, five boys and three girls. That's not counting Yuffie, since she lived with her father and was never raised as Terri's daughter. My how she was a good babysitter for these little ones though; Yu never was one to turn down money... or Materia, for that matter.

Tseng stepped around the rug bunnies and peered into the kitchen. Just as he hoped his aunt was sitting at the table, by herself. Her eyes lit up when she noticed him, and automatically stood up. "Come in, come in and sit," she told him in their native tongue and he smiled. There were many things he wanted to talk about, and there was almost uncertainty on if he'd be able to find the right words. He walked over to the table and sat down, taking her hand in the process. "Terri, I need to ask you a few things," he said slowly, and she nodded, patting his hand with hers.

"How is my mother," he asked with concern, and she furrowed her brows at him, in deep thought. He remembered that she didn't know the Western Continent dialect and could have smacked himself. He repeated himself in Wutaianeese and she smiled, understanding. "She is... going," she slowly said, and he put his head down on the table. "How long does she have... no, I mean, can she still remember everything..." he looked over, hoping she had an idea of what he meant. "Days come and go and she slowly loses herself," she told him, "Some days she knows, and some days she knows not of her own name. She may live fifty more years, or maybe only today. Only Da- Chao knows." She looked up and smiled at him again, and he caught himself watching as two of the children fought over the same toy. "I feel exactly the way that doll feels right now," Tseng thought to himself, and turned back to his aunt.

"Has she mentioned anything about me," he asked and she shook her head. "All matters of the heart, child. She forgave you long before, but she stays stubborn as a mule. She loves you, you are her only child, but of words she says nothing." He looked down and sighed. Not exactly the way he hoped to hear it, but it gave him a little peace. "And my father," he started. "Has my father come yet?" She studied him for a moment and then laughed sarcastically. "Your father? Leviathan catch him first, he had dare not come here, running off the way he did. You're a cop, you find him," she stated, and he thought of saying something back, but decided against it. All for another day, he thought, and stood up.

"I'd like to see my mother," he told his aunt and she pointed towards the hall, waving him away. He walked to the end of the hall and took a deep breath. He had a fleeting thought that he might have some sort of panic disorder, forever terrorized by the thought of opening a door. He ignored himself and slowly opened the door and walked in, seeing his mother sleeping, and just stood there. There was no way he could wake her, he didn't feel that he was ready to face the truth. Tseng stood there, next to his mothers' bed, and for a moment watched her sleeping peacefully, and with tears in his eyes he turned and left. "Another day," he told himself, and gently closed the door behind him.

He didn't say another word to his aunt on the way out, he just left. He had no further desire to say there. He needed fresh air; that suffocating feeling was coming back. As he jogged through town towards the mountains he caught a glance of Vincent again and he nearly stumbled on his own feet. By the time he had stopped and turned around the boy was nowhere to be seen. But he did single out Yuffie, along with a very familiar looking blonde. "All the more reason to leave," he thought to himself, and took off again.

He slowed a little as he neared his house, and thought about checking on his Turks. "No matter what Reeves said, they're directly under my care, and if something should happen to them..." He stopped to catch his breath. Thinking it through, he decided that would be the reasonable thing to do, and secondly, there was still very frostbitten ice cream in the freezer.

Back in his kitchen he found there was, indeed, vanilla bean ice cream in the freezer and smiled as he sat it on the counter. He retrieved the bottle of whiskey from the hall where it had rolled and sat it on the counter next to the ice cream. He pulled a spoon out of the drawer and hopped up onto the counter, and started his project. If he remembered right, and if Reno hadn't been making it up, the alcohol would melt the ice cream, and for some reason this intrigued Tseng. He carefully poured some of the bottle into the cardboard container, and examined it carefully. He mixed it up a bit with the spoon, and was ready at any moment to jump back in case it was going to explode.

It didn't explode, and it didn't taste all that great either, but he really didn't care. "Maybe I will take Yuffie up on going out tonight," he thought, and picked up his phone. He hit speed dial two, which was Rude. He got his voice mailbox. "Hey buddy, just calling to see how you're doing, guess you're off somewhere. Guess I'll talk to you later. Bye." He ended the call and paused before he made his next call. He did not like calling Elena, for some reason she always acted like he loved her or something when he did. Wanting to talk to Reno the very least pushed him to continue, and he did. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hello," she asked, and he replied, "Hi Elena, I was just calling to see how things are going." There was a brief pause, then giggles. "Great," she finally said, "But is it okay if I call you back? I'm kinda busy right now..." "That's alright Elena, I'll just talk to you later," he said and she hung up on him. "A little odd," he thought to himself, and dialed up Reno's number, which he did not keep on speed dial.

Reno answered on the third ring, and sounded confused. "Ah, hello," he asked, and Tseng answered, "Hey Reno, how are things going?" There was a very odd noise and Tseng was almost about to ask when Reno spoke up, "Can you hold on a minute? I... Hold on..." There was about five minutes of noise on the other end and Tseng could only guess what the redhead was doing. Reno finally came back on, to Tseng's relief; he was growing quite impatient. "So, dude, what's up," he asked, and Tseng answered. "I was wondering how things were going with Scarlet." There was maniacal laughter and Tseng wondered if he should have asked. "No way, man. She took off, and I sure as hell didn't want to stay there alone, hell, I didn't want to pay for it. I left dude, I'm in Costa with Elena." Now it was Tseng's turn to fall silent. That made perfect sense, and he now wished he hadn't asked. "Yo, you okay dude," Reno asked, and Tseng managed to find the words. "I'll see you at work Reno," and he hung up.

The whiskey tainted ice cream never looked so good.

"I'm standing in a field with gently rolling hills, the forest and the mountain range surrounds me."


	3. Lightning Bugs and Broken Dreams

Disclaimer- same ole stuff. Don't own Tseng, Elena, Reno, Rude, Vincent, Yuffie, Turtle's Paradise, anything else from FF7. I don't own anything, 'cept the underwear I'm wearing. You can't have it, it's mine.

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I want to thank **Nyviay and Cyraxia** and **glamrockbloodbath** for their reviews on this story, and the11 nameless people that have also read this story. It is for you that I have been able to write the third chapter, even though it has taken so long. I thank you for your patience with my slow ass writing, and well, this is for y'all. Chapter 3, Lightning Bugs and Broken Dreams

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Three days. The last seventy-two hours Tseng never bothered to get out of his bed, other than to use the bathroom, eat, or to go drink booze. Otherwise, he felt there was no reason for it. He felt like shit... He probably looked and smelled like it too for the time being, but he didn't care. He was on vacation. He'd just lay there for the next week and a half if he wanted to, there were no rules against it. 

He looked over to the clock sitting on the dresser and yawned. It was a quarter past four in the morning, and the early sun was funneling in through an unclosed curtain. He stared at the intruding light for a moment, then burrowed deep into the blankets. It was much too early to be up, but instead of sleep, he found himself thinking about the fireflies.

* * *

Turtles Paradise, roughly three months prior 

"Come on man, one more round," Reno exclaimed enthusiastically, slapping Rude's arm. He and Rude were the only ones drinking shots, and Tseng was starting to wonder what he was doing here in first place. The whole night so far had been boring. Tseng sat between Reno and Elena, with Rude across the way. Reno and Rude had been drinking like mad sailors since they arrived, and Elena hadn't said a word to anybody. Reno had been scooting his chair closer and closer to Rude's, and Rude was doing the same. This wouldn't bother Tseng that much, if they were playing their "drink until I die" game somewhere else. He just knew them both too much, and didn't want to imagine what that was going to lead to. Otherwise... On that level of thinking, he decide he needed another drink, and ordered two. The other one was for Elena.

There was no master minded plan behind ordering a drink for Elena, he just thought she looked like she needed some cheering up. When she dumped it over his head and stormed off, he took off after her, leaving the redheaded and the bald to kill themselves with alcohol poisoning.

It didn't take long to find Elena. The blonde was leaning over the side railing on the bridge connecting Turtles Paradise with the rest of town. "What are you doing," he asked her. "Aren't you worried of falling over?" "I don't care, I hate it here" she said. "You know I live here," he reminded her. "I know, and I still don't care," she said. Tseng thought for a moment. "Come with me then," he asked, placing his hand next to hers. "Where are you going," she asked him, and he had to think again, something that was not coming too clearly for the time being. "I'm going... over there," he finally said, pointing to the other side of the river. "Why," she asked, and he knowingly grinned. "There's something over there I want to show you."

With that, Tseng rolled his pant-legs up and waded out into the river. "Come on Elena, there's nothing to it." The blonde shook her head. "I can't." "Well why not," he asked, bending over to splash a bit of water towards her. "Because I can't," she said, not knowing what else to say. Tseng sat down on the embankment on the other side and play-pouted at her. "But I thought you wuved me," he teased her. Obviously, he said the wrong thing. She looked more angry than embarrassed, and she threw a rock, splashing just in front of him. "I can't believe you," she said, throwing more rocks. Tseng didn't bother to move. Getting hit by a rock couldn't be any worse than getting shot with a bullet, and Elena had bad aim at both.

After Elena succeeded at hitting Tseng in the foot, he got up and walked off, leaving her to her own choice. "It really is too bad, Miss Johanson..." he called to her as he walked towards the wooded area. "You might have just missed your one and only chance with me. Oh well," he added, smiling to himself. He was starting to have fun, real fun, and was hoping he wasn't really bored to death and it was just the alcohol making him think he was having fun.

Hearing a very loud splash, Tseng turned around to see the very wet, flustered blonde sputtering and struggling up the embankment. "Let me help you," he said, offering her his hand. He pulled her up the steep hill and right back down as he fell back on his ass. He shyly grinned at her, as she sat staring at him, very confused. He met her gaze and held it for a few minutes, giving her a moment she wouldn't get again. Again, he knew he was letting his guard way down, and would probably pay for this later, but he also knew better than to mess with Elena's already unstable emotions. Yes, it was rather fun, and he and Reno had a secret running joke of messing with her... Even Rude got in on it sometimes... but now was not the time.

Tseng had no idea of when he put his arm around Elena, or when they had gotten up and started walking, but obviously they had. "Was I daydreaming about the cadet," he wondered to himself, and laughed at the ubserdness. He also became very aware that her hand was in his back pocket. "That's nice," he said outloud, mainly for her, but enough that she wouldn't know if it went above her, like everything else. "What," she asked, oblivious like he figured. "Look," he said, pulling her attention towards a small clearing. "What," she asked again, not understanding what he was looking at. He noticed small lights flickering off in the distance, and started pulling her towards them.

"Oh my Holy..." Elena whispered as they drew near. What looked like the moon sparkling off the water turned out to be thousands of fireflies, dancing over the grass. "It's so beautiful," she whispered to him, smiling up at him with those big brown eyes. For a moment, Tseng saw Elena much the same way Reno claims to- Just a beautiful, innocent, girl. "She is rather pretty," he thought to himself, but it was just like Yuffie. Age and beauty are both tough maidens to deal with.

"That's what my wife used to say," he told her, and she looked up at him. "I didn't know you're married," she said, and he shrugged. "I guess some things just never come up," he said, and gently smiled at her. "I bet you have kids and stuff too then," she added on, and he slipped his other arm around her. His silence gave her what she figured. "Figures," she said. "I'm going to be doomed to living with Reno my whole life, we're going to be old people in wheelchairs fighting over the remote control and the last bowl of mushed prunes." Tseng laughed, and Elena slipped her other arm around him.

"I'm serious," she told him, trying not to either laugh or cry herself. "I'm going to die alone, unhappy, without kids... with Reno." "Oh come on, you're being overdramatic," he told her. "You don't think Reno wouldn't have kids with you?" Elena stopped, and looked up at him. "Tseng... can you imagine me having two or three kids, with my brains and Reno's ADD? Think about it." Tseng did think about it, and wasn't quite sure why he added "And you think my intelligence and your good looks would get a child further in life?" Much to his relief, she shook her head no. "I guess not," she said.

"Listen," he said, "I like you, okay? But I've already made my choices, and I have to stick to them no matter what. You are... so young, still, that you shouldn't even worry about anything, other than spending your next paycheck." "What," she asked in return, "Like Scarlet did? Just waste my life playing and not worry about where I'm going to be in ten years, or days, or minutes?"

"Wow," Tseng though to himself. "Maybe she does know what she's talking about." "You know," he said, wanting to change the subject, I brought you all the way through the water and the sand and the mud and the mosquitoes, all the way to show you my secret, and what are we doing but bringing eachother down, hunh?" She pulled back and looked up at him. "You're right," she said. "Hey then, come here," he said, letting go of her and pulling his soaked shoes off. She watched and took her shoes off too. "Now," he told her, "I'm going to do something really cool, but you have to promise never to tell anyone, okay?" Elena's eyes lit up. "A secret, just between us?" "That's right," he said with a gentle smile.

Elena giggled as she watched Tseng comically tip-toe through the grass, making an effect not to step on the small, swarming bugs. Once he was in the middle of the area, he motioned for her to join him. Of course, this was no problem for the ex-ballerina, and she was quickly next to him. "Watch this," he told her, she watched as he scooped the air in front of them. "The first time never counts," he told her, and winked. She giggled. He did this a few more times, unsuccessfully on purpose. "Man," he said. "I think I suck at this. Maybe you should try." She giggled nervously. "I can't." "Oh, no. Now, there you go again with the I cant's. You never know what your potential is if you never try."

Elena thought about that for a minute, then asked, "Can you show me how?" Tseng smiled. "Of course," he told her. "The first thing you do is... have a Master Luck Plus Materia with you." She laughed at that. "It's not that hard, just put your hands out and act like Reno's throwing something to you..." Elena stared at him blankly."..I'm throwing something at you. Just act like you're catching something, you know how to do that, right?" Elena was still giving him the same look. "I guess," she said, "I'm gonna do it." Tseng smiled.

Tseng watched as Elena, with her eyes closed and looking like she expected to be it in the face with something, tried his technique a few times. This didn't work. "Okay, okay. That's good, but maybe you should watch where one goes, and wait for that one to come around." She nodded, and he put his hands over hers. "Just like this," he said, and he cupped her hands and guided them to one slow moving bug.

"I got it," she said, enthusiastically, and Tseng smiled. "Good," he said, and he lay down in the grass. Elena was more than busy watching the lightning bugs floating around, but Tseng was more interested in the sky. It was dark enough now that you could see the stars, all the constellations on that part of the sphere. Elena eventually grew tired or gave up on the bugs, and lay down next to him. He looked over to her. "You getting tired, or cold, or anything? We can go back whenever you're ready." "Yeah," she simply said, leaving Tseng to wonder which it was, or if it was something else. "Okay then," he said. "Let's not forget our shoes."

They walked the path they came, right back to town, neither saying anything. Tseng wanted so badly to say anything, he hadn't felt this close to anyone in a long time. But Elena's blondeness was the only thing that stopped any conversation he might try to start. She just never saw things the way he did, and that would probably never happen.

"Well, tonight was ... enlightening," Tseng said, as he held the hotel door for Elena. "Maybe we should do this again sometime," he added, but she shook her head, obviously thinking of the redhead laying passed out on the floor. "I don't think so. It wouldn't be very professional." To Tseng, Elena had never sounded so dumb in the time he'd known her. But, he let it go. "You know there's work in the morning cadet," he said, letting personality one take over. "You and Reno will both be early, we leave at dawn..." She closed the door in his face.

* * *

From that night on, when Tseng felt frustrated, or thought something was too hard, sometimes was able to think of Elena, scaring the shit out of those poor little bugs, and for some reason that made things alot easier for him to deal with. 

He peeked out from under the blankets and looked at the clock again. Six thirty. A good time in the morning to get up, he reasoned with himself, and take a shower. But, within minutes of that decision, he had fallen back asleep.

He dreamt of the same dream, the one that he had dubbed "The Haunting", mainly for the fact that it was haunting him. Only, this time, he traveled just a bit further into that dream world, and was able to pick up what Vincent had left behind. A silver ball bearing chain, and at the end of the chain, a set of dogtags. Engraved upon the first one, was his name... This was the one he received a few weeks after being drafted. The second one was worn from time, and nearly unreadable. But... On closer examination...

Tseng woke up, feeling somewhat sick. He wasn't sure what kind of a sick joke his mind was playing on him, but it was starting to get ridiculous. He had thrown his dogtags into the polluted waters of Junon the day he was offered the job in Midgar. His name, Tseng Yao Mitzaka, had been on them. He laughed sharply and shook his head as he sat up. "I guess I'm going to need a little speaking to with a certain little brat," he said to himself, then yawned. It was early afternoon, and he was definitely in need of a good shower.

He did indeed shower, and fix himself up. He was in one of his moods though, and couldn't get dressed past his boxers. Nothing else felt right, and he knew from that, that today was not going to be a good day. Swearing his socks evil, he glared at them as he left them sitting on the counter and left to the living room.

He sighed as he flopped down into one of the kitchen's chairs and picked up his PHS from it's resting place on the table. Seven missed calls, and seven messages. One from Elena that he swore to himself he would return, one from Reno that he wouldn't, two from Rude that he would and three from Yuffie, who he was going to have to talk to anyway. He grabbed a granola bar out of the cupboard over the sink and walked over to the couch, where he proceeded to flop and lay down. This was going to be fun.

He munched on his bar while he listened, amused, to the many reasons Elena had for "It's not how it sounded" and then, in turn, Reno's many boasts of "It's exactly how it sounded, and then some." Rude had left a message saying Tifa had met up with him, along with the Barret and Cloud, and the two were leaving together for awhile. The second message was him saying they had just checked into Gold Saucer, and wouldn't be accepting any calls for awhile. Yuffie's messages were consistent with her mind. "Hey Sen, pick up! Oh, wait, voice mail. Dammit. Call me back." Click-beep "You're a looser, why haven't you called me back yet? I need to talk to you, like right now." Click-beep. "Alright Sen, since you never check your phone, I'll just tell you. I'm leaving, do you understand that? You can't call me back, so forget it. Cloud called me and told me he was coming to get me, so that leaves you out of the loop, Turkey. Talk to ya later, nyuk nyuk."

Tseng wadded up his cellophane wrapper and tossed it over the couch. Yuffie could be so annoying. But, that was that, and now at least she would be out of his business for awhile. The only problem with that was, now he didn't have anyone to talk to again, and being alone in his house, sober, wasn't looking like much of a choice. "Guess I should go do something today," he said, looking around, then smirked, "After I put some clothes on."

He went upstairs to his room and thanked himself for already opening every door in the place. He dug through the clothes already piled on the floor from a few days back and pulled out and put on a pair of black sweatpants and a black tee shirt. He was getting a bit annoyed at his hair being in his way and thought about pulling it back, something he hadn't done since he was younger, but that didn't feel right so he just gave up and put his shoes on. He went down the stairs, back downstairs and into the living room, where he had left his phone. He picked it up and put it in his pants pocket, then grabbed his keys and wallet from under his pillow on the couch, and left.

Tseng had no particular place in mind, so he just let his feet lead the way. He wandered around the woods for awhile, and eventually found the little river that separates the town into two, and started following it into town. The long path gave him time to think clearly, and let his mind wander back into his previous thoughts. Three, distinctive thoughts, anyway. One, his mother and how he was going to handle the situation, two, his father and if he was going to ever find him, and three, what the relation between his dream and that Valentine guy had to do with eachother. The latter would come sooner than he would have expected.

Tseng stopped walking as he noticed Vincent standing off to the side of the river, staring off into space. Tseng turned around and took a deep breath. "This is stupid," he thought to himself, but he found himself walking up to the man anyway. Tseng simply stood next to him, looking out over the river, thinking of what to say. It was akward, being that Tseng was the Turk to explain everything. Rude could physically force other people to talk, Reno could intimidate, and Elena could seduce, but it was Tseng with all the words. And yet, nothing was coming.

Tseng watched as Vincent pulled out a camera and took a few pictures of the area, then a quick one of himself. Tseng easily had forgotten that he was here as a tourist, along with the rest of the summer crowd. He stared at the dark haired man, clad in a bright yellow shirt, white shorts and yellow flip-flops, and an idea struck him.

"Beautiful out here, isn't it," Tseng asked, more out loud than aimed at Vincent, but the other mad did turn and answer. "Stunning," he said, as he looked Tseng over carefully. Tseng grinned. "I grew up here, but the view is still as breathtaking as ever." Vincent sighed, and Tseng looked up at the taller man, curiously. There were many things he would like to talk to him about. "I lived here for a time, back when I was younger," Vincent somberly said, " But I'm from Nibelheim, originally. Now I just sort of go from town to town, along with my work." Tseng sighed, "I know how that goes. Say," he added, " When about did you live here, mabey we went to school together or something?" Vincent mock-laughed. "I don't think so. It was a long time ago, but I think I would remember, which I don't."

Tseng was a bit puzzled by that. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked out again. "Were you ever in the army? Maybe we were in Soldier together," Tseng tried again, and again, Vincent laughed at him. "I don't believe so, but I was, for awhile. Again, I would remember you, but I don't." Vincent again looked scrutinizingly at Tseng, at which Tseng was unnerved. "Well," he started again, "Maybe you were in training with me, before I was taken as a Turk?" That obviously hit home with the taller man, and he turned away. "I was a part of the Turks, once. How you know that is beyond me. But, it was far before you would have been taken in, I can promise you that." Tseng grinned.

"Maybe I have you confused with someone who looks exactly like you," he said, almost sarcastically. "But I'm a Turk, and that is impossible with my training. I know you are a member of Avalanche, and my next mission is to hunt you down. But, for now I am on vacation, and I simply want to know now, if you are only 27, how could I not know you? If you, as you just said, have been everywhere I have been, how would I not have bumped into you along the way?" Vincent stared at him, coldly. "I am what I have said, and there is nothing more for me to say to you."

Vincent started to walk away, but Tseng stopped him dead in his tracks. "Then why are you in my dreams?" Vincent turned sharply and stared at Tseng with his sad ember eyes. "What do you mean by this," he asked, and Tseng looked away, nervously. "I mean, I... I don't know." Tseng turned away again, feeling something akin to a panic attack coming on. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. "No," Vincent said, "I think you do know, and I think maybe it is time we talked." Vincent placed his claw on Tseng's shoulder, and Tseng scooted away, nervously. If the other Turks ever saw him acting this way, so unprofessional, he would never live it down.

"You are not Wutaian, are you," Vincent asked, breaking through Tseng's thoughts. He looked up at the taller man, obviously hurt. "Yes, I am," Tseng said, confused as why he would say such a thing. Vincent mock laughed at him. "No, I don't believe you are." "And... Why would you think that," Tseng asked, careful not to sound annoyed. "Simple," Vincent said, "You have blue eyes." Tseng could feel his face turning red. "What does my eye color have anything to do with where I was born?" Vincent smiled, rather smugly. "Nothing," he replied. Tseng was starting to get more than frustrated. "Why is it anything to you all of a sudden anyway, I thought I was the one asking the questions here!"

"... All in due time," Vincent said, then turned to walk away. "I think not," Tseng said pointing a finger at Vincent. A finger is nowhere near as intimidating as a gun, but it was all he had. "I think you're going to answer my question." Vincent didn't look surprised as he pushed the shorter man's finger away. "Fine," he said, walking over to lean against a tree. "What exactly do you want to know," Vincent asked, "and how exactly do you want me to answer?" Tseng sat down in the grass, flustered and exasperated. "I just want to know, why are you following me, why is your aura imprinted in my mind, what do you have to do with me?"

Vincent pulled out his wallet and threw a small piece of paper to Tseng. "I think you might recognize these people," Vincent said, as Tseng picked up the folded paper and looked at it. It was a picture of a man, who looked quite a bit like himself, in a Turk suit, holding a small boy of about six years old. A wave of recognition hit Tseng, and he angrily snapped, "How did you get this? This is the last picture my mom took of me and my dad! The week before he ran away!" Vincent slowly walked over and sat down next to Tseng. "But how can that be," he asked back, "Because this is the last picture my girlfriend took of me and my son."

Tseng sat there, frustrated, until it hit him. "You girlfriend?" "That's right," Vincent replied. "I was seriously ...injured, in the line of duty a week later. I never had the chance to propose to her, and I had been ... away, such a long time that I never had the chance to find her again." Tseng was hit by another wave of chill. He slowly reached up and ran his index finger over his bindi, then plain put his hand over his face. "Okay, sure. I'll take that." Vincent put his good hand on Tseng's shoulder and brushed his hair back from his face. "You look like your grandmother, you know."

Tseng laughed, mostly in disbelief. "Okay. But one thing," Tseng asked, looking up again, "How the hell are you nine years younger than me then?" Vincent sighed, tired of talking. "I'm not, I'm twenty one years older than you." Tseng looked puzzled, he sure didn't look over thirty. "It's hard to explain," he said, and Tseng accepted that as enough. "Okay, you're fifty seven, whatever. Maybe you are a vampire then, and just don't age. How would I know, I don't care. But, my mother is in her seventies now, and if you are only fifty, then..."

Vincent cut in. "That's right, I was twenty one and angry that I couldn't have the woman I loved so dearly, and your mother was thirty eight and lonely, we met at a bar and we were together for one night. I never loved her, but I cared for my son. When I was... put out of commission, I swore that I would not only seek revenge against the one that hurt me, but that I would find my child, at all costs. I've dreamt about you many times, and I've hoped that you remember me. What you dream may or may not have anything to do with me, but of what you wish you could have done differently. I have many nightmares, I cannot escape them. I had witnessed so much being in the Turks, and I could not change any of it. That is what my nightmares are made of. Mine will never stop, but maybe one day, yours will. I just hope you can stay on the path you've chosen, and stay true to yourself, and not be swayed by another like I was. I hope that helps you."

Vincent ended his little story with that, and stood up. Tseng wasn't sure what to think just yet. That terrorist traitor was his father? No, he was a Turk.

Vincent had already started walking away when Tseng stood up. He watched him walk away, and he felt pride as he let him go. His father was a Turk, traitor or not, and that was good enough for him.

The sun was starting to set, and Tseng had plenty of thoughts to absorb. He walked over to the bridge and stood there, thinking and watching as the sun fully set over the ocean. He stayed there until the fireflies started their dance over the river. He watched them interested for a while. Their life was so simple, it must be so fun to just float around, being carried wherever the wind takes them, without a single care. A small smile crept across his lips, thinking again of Elena's dance with the fireflies, seemingly so long ago now.

His attention suddenly shifted to Turtle's Paradise, as the kareoke machine picked up and some lonely drunkard started warbling away to some annoying song. Tseng yawned. It was starting to get late, and a beer or mixer sounded pretty good to him right now.

He wandered towards the bar and went in, taking the usual table by the door, much to his surprise already seated there was Yuffie and Cloud. Yuffie blushed at her older cousin, and Tseng grinned. "On a date, eh?" "Mind your own beeswax, Turkey," Yuffie said enthusiastically waving a finger, nearly falling off her chair in the process. Cloud looked up at the much taller Tseng with drunken amazement. "How'd you do that? She hadn't said a word since I stared buying her drinks!" Tseng ignored the blonde and flagged down a waitress, ordering the first of many drinks of the night. It wasn't Reno and Elena, but they would do.


End file.
